The Ilocos Times

I understand the urge to keep planting our traditional crops—especially those with deep roots in our history and culture. But what if demand is falling? What if the farmers who grow these crops are slipping deeper into poverty because the prices that they once relied on are no longer there? And what if the product itself is increasingly viewed as harmful to public health, with fewer acceptable uses each year? That, sadly, is the problem facing the tobacco industry. Is the market for cigarettes and cigars really shrinking? Government should be able to measure that with precision. A simple dashboard would do that: excise-tax–paid removals from BIR (a proxy for sales), PSA data on area planted and farmgate prices, NTA’s leaf procurement and farmer counts, DOH smoking prevalence, and DTI export/import figures for leaf and finished products. If those lines are trending down together, the signal is clear. If government confirms the problem, we need a two-track response. First, find new ...

Vintar, Ilocos Norte— Ilocos Norte is set to become Northern Luzon ’s hub for textile research and development with the forthcoming opening of the Regional Yarn Production and Innovation Center (RYPIC), locally known as “Panait ni Siwawer,” on November 20, 2025. The partnership for the establishment of the center was formally sealed through a memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed on October 16, 2025 in Vintar, Ilocos Norte , between the Department of Science and Technology–Philippine Textile Research Institute (DOST-PTRI), the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte , and the Municipality of Vintar. The facility, the first of its kind in Northern Luzon and the third in the entire country, forms part of DOST-PTRI’s program titled “Fostering the Revitalization of Nascent Textile Innovation Ecosystems in the Region.” It aims to strengthen the textile value chain by enabling the production of natural yarns from locally sourced fibers such as bamboo , cotton, abaca , and pineapple . On...

INCOME BOOST. Bureau  of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources personnel distribute 50,000 tilapia fingerlings to members of indigenous people (IP) community on Tuesday, (Sept. 17, 2024) in Adams town, Ilocos Norte province. This is part of the Hapag Katutubo (indigenous table) project to empower IPs for inclusive growth. ( Photo courtesy of BFAR Ilocos Norte) By Leilanie G. Adriano Adams, Ilocos Norte —About 500 members of the indigenous peoples (IPs) community in this town look forward to harvesting more tilapia and catfish from their communal bodies of water and its aquaculture technology demonstration project. This, after the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Region 1 provided them a total of PHP300,000 worth of livelihood assistance. Nestled atop mountains, Adams is located approximately 108.3 kilometers north of the capital city of Laoag. With less than 3,000 residents, it is home to one of the indigenous peoples’ (IP) communities in northern Luzon, t...

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff Reporter CITY of batac —Micro, small and medium enterprises in the province are excited to explore the services of a sophisticated one-stop techno hub now made available closer to their homes. A former overseas Filipino worker-turned-entrepreneur Agnes Asuncion from Currimao, Ilocos Norte said “you do not need to travel by far or go out of the country to find a better fortune when there are opportunities waiting for you back home.” As a member of the Philippine Export Confederation, Inc. (PHILEXPORT), Ms. Asuncion is just one among the hundreds and thousands of beneficiaries of various government programs and initiatives to help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to grow and maximize their potential. “We thank MMSU and DTI for being behind us —from skills training, product development and marketing of our products. Through them, we are more confident now to export our products,” said Asuncion who is into dragon fruit soap-ma...

  BJMP Batac District Jail Senior Inspector Antonio Sapaden presents to the members of the media the Bolinao Chicken Project with MMSU, ILARDEC and DOST. BJMP-Batac is the pilot area of the project. (Doms dela Cruz) By Dominic B. dela Cruz Staff Reporter City of Batac —After the oyster mushroom production, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Batac District Jail is now the pilot area for the Bolinao chicken project in Region I. The project is a joint venture between Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU), Ilocos Agriculture and Aquatic Resources Research and Development Consortium (ILAARDEC) and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) exclusively for Region I. Jail Senior Inspector Antonio Sapaden announced that BJMP Batac is “very lucky” as the DOST chose it as the project’s pilot area.   Mr. Sapaden explained that DOST funded the chicken coop construction in coordination with MMSU. The chicken coop has a cost of PHP100,...